We drove from San Diego through Los Angeles to Ventura. I was pleasantly surprised by how not-nearly-as-hard-of-a-drive going through LA was in the RV. Of course, Scott was driving, but even he thought it would be much more difficult than it was.
We stayed just outside of Ventura in a KOA RV park. Most of the admin portion of the park had burned in the California wildfires last year, so it was mostly empty which was great for us. The kids enjoyed riding around on their bikes, while Gracie enjoyed the walks in the woods. We were all disturbed by how devasting the fires had been.
Peacocks made the campground fun (and noisy).
Our first order of business was to go to the Channel Islands National Park. There is only one ferry that goes to most of the islands each day (and even then it doesn’t run every day), so we were happy to be able to get tickets to go on the one hour ride. The islands were stunning to see as we got closer. The abundance of sea lions and dolphins made for an even more fun arrival.
Sea lions were spotted the entire trip over.
There were fewer than 60 people that went to the Santa Cruz Island with us. It felt as if we had the entire place to ourselves.
Only one boat per day for going and returning. You don’t want to miss the return trip!
At the visitor center, we learned that the islands had originally been part of mainland California and had been spun out to see when the North American and Pacific plates moved against each other. Keali was excited to learn about the mammoths swimming out to the islands and eventually evolving into Pygmy mammoths.
Of course I was excited about the hike. The island was beautiful with its cliffs and crashing waves from the ocean. The place is what one might imagine the cliffs of Ireland looking like (only much warmer).
We spotted several fun wildlife critters on our hike. We not only saw a couple of island foxes (one of the rarest foxes in the world due to them only inhabiting the islands), but we also saw some fantastic bees that live in the ground. Digger bees (also known as Chimney Bees) were brand new to us, and the kids freaked a little each time we had to cross their nests. (We learned later that they are not aggressive at all.)
Digger bees live in the ground and don’t work as a hive but rather as individuals.
The next day, I flew back to return to Guymon for KC’s dad’s funeral. It was a very quick trip, and it was wonderful to see all of the family. Ken Rothschopf was a great man and left a fantastic legacy with his wife and children. Everyone lost a little with his death.
While I was gone, Scott took the kids to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. They enjoyed seeing Air Force One.
The future POTUS.
But I think they enjoyed picking strawberries right afterwards even better. I enjoyed eating the fruits of their labor when I returned to Ventura.
The strawberry farm had Pygmy goats. I’m surprised Keali left.
Our final event in Ventura was scuba diving one of the other Channel Islands, Atacama Island. We had never been diving in kelp forests nor super cold water. Our 7mm wet suits were surprisingly warm, but they were heavy and difficult to maneuver in outside of the water. The kelp forests were interesting to see and swim through. There was not an abundance of other life. We were able to spot some garibaldi and some kelp fish, and on one dive we saw some gigantic lobster huddled in a swimthrough. The Channel Islands waters are protected the same as the surface, so the lobsters grow to be shockingly big.
The kids decided to snorkel the cold waters once we were out on the boat.
All in all, Ventura was a fantastic stop. The city itself was clean and pretty and bustling but not crowded. We ate good when we ate out, and the Channel Islands were beautiful. By far the highlight was the trip home from the islands. A pod of hundreds of dolphins swam up to our boat, and then as if a signal was sent out, they all flitted across the surface of the water and hurriedly swam away. Seeing it might be one of the top highlights of the trip. This picture doesn’t even begin to tell the story of the dolphins spread out as far as you could see and on both sides of the boat. We’ll never forget it.
